Shadows
by HollywoodVampire
Summary: House MD crossover with Dead Poets society. Wilson is forced to face the past when a group of men show up at PPTH. Short little one shot.


**AU: K i was extremly tired when i wrote this...but also extremly inspired. So this is what came out. I know the idea has been done to death but hey!! please review!! I know this isn't my best work but...again the stupid little plot bunny wouldn't go away.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Wilson walked into the conference room, glancing at the board which was full symptoms, all seemingly unrelated

Wilson walked into the conference room and glanced at the board which was full symptoms, all seemingly unrelated. He sighed and sat down next to Cameron who was flipping through the patients file, occasionally scribbling something down on the paper she had in front of her. Chase was at the counter, pouring himself some coffee, and Foreman was leaning against the wall, idly tapping his fingers against his leg. House, of course, was nowhere to be seen. Wilson assumed he was harassing the patient or getting high on Vicodin somewhere. Sighing, he surveyed the board and began drawing his own conclusions.

"Did House page you?" Chase asked, breaking the silence. Wilson nodded and took the mug of coffee Chase offered him.

"I'm trying to decide if he did it just to screw with me, or he honestly needed something." He said. "Seeing as there is no indication of cancer anywhere in the list of symptoms I'm assuming he was bored and wanted some entertainment."

"You would be wrong." House said as he entered, using his cane to pull out a chair for himself. "I paged you because I need you to get the patient to sign a consent."

"Why me?" Wilson asked.

"You said it yourself, none of those symptoms mean cancer, therefore I need them," he pointed at the ducklings. "To help me figure out what it actually is, leaving you to work your magic." House smiled triumphantly and tossed Wilson the patients file. Wilson sighed and stood up.

"Sometimes I wonder why I stay friends with you."

"There's actually a bet going on about that." Chase said. "Foreman makes a hundred and fifty dollars if House is bribing you. I say you two had a thing back in med school, which is actually a very popular choice, and Cameron says it's because House is needy." Cameron flushed and buried her head in the file.

"Put me down for 'act of God.'" Wilson said before walking out into the hallway. He heard House mutter something behind him but chose to ignore the older man.

"Morning Dr. Wilson." Cuddy greeted as she passed him. She had the look on her face that meant House had done something wrong and Wilson chuckled to himself as he entered the patients room.

A man was lying in the bed hooked up to numerous machines that beeped and whirled, telling everyone that, at the moment, the man was alright. He was surrounded by four other men and a woman who was crouching by his side. They all looked up when he entered.

"Hello Mr…" Wilson scanned the file and felt his breath catch in his throat. "…Overstreet." He looked up and stared at the people in the room. They, in turn, stared back. The silence was overwhelming, even the regular sounds of the hospital seemed to get quieter. Then one of the men took a step forward and addressed him.

"Neil?" He asked in a quiet voice. Wilson opened his mouth as if to say something but stopped and turned around, silently exiting the room. The group followed him, all except the woman who stayed by Mr. Overstreet's side. _No, not Mr. Overstreet_, Wilson thought, _Knox. And not just any woman, it was Chris._ Wilson ducked into his office.

The men apparently didn't know which way he went and Wilson heard them walk past, heading randomly down the hallway. He went over and locked his door before collapsing on the couch, resting his head in his hands. _They were all there,_ he thought, _Charlie, Meeks, Pitts, and…and Todd. _Wilson ran a hand through his hair, trying desperately to get his mind around the situation. He didn't know what he was going to do, or why he was so frantically trying to avoid the boys he'd been best friends with for a good part of his childhood. What he did know was that he needed time to think. He stood up, shut the lights off, and closed the curtains to the window that overlooked his balcony.

"Tradition, honor, discipline, excellence." He recited, sitting down at his desk. He fished a key out of his pocket and unlocked the bottom drawer. He pulled out a box and opened it up, peering at its contents. After sifting through it a bit he pulled out an old faded picture. It was of seven guys, all crowded around an older man. At the bottom of the picture it read: _Carpe Diem…seize the day Neil. _Wilson traced the faded ink and smiled.

"Yes Captain," He said. Closing his eyes, Wilson thought back to that night oh so many years ago.

He was sitting at his fathers desk, the gun in front of him. He couldn't think of another way out. He wanted to act. Maybe it wasn't his career, maybe it was just going to be a hobby, but whatever acting was to him, he wanted it to stay. He knew he didn't want to go to medical school. He flinched at the sight of blood and the thought of holding someone's life in his hands made him shudder. There was no way out. His father was adamant about Neil becoming a doctor, and once Mr. Tom Perry made up his mind about something, there was no changing it.

Neil picked up the gun and held it to his head, just above his temple. The metal was cold and he felt a shiver run down his spine, though that could be because of something other than the temperature. He flexed his hand, cocked the gun, and took a deep breath. He knew suicide was wrong. He always told himself that no matter how bad things got, they could get better. Eventually. But this was the final straw. This wasn't about not being able to act…Neil wasn't that petty. This was about everything his father had forced him to do, without ever asking Neil how he felt. This was about uprooting everything he had worked for at Welton. Even if he hadn't wanted it he had worked his butt off to be the best at it.

Neil closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. He wasn't apologizing to his parents. He knew this would hurt them and he wanted it to. No, he was saying sorry to the Dead Poets, to Todd, Charlie, Knox, Meeks, Pitts, and Mr. Keating. He didn't want to hurt them, but he knew he would.

With a final breath Neil began to slowly pull the trigger. He could hear clicking inside the gun as the bullet prepared to be launched. Just as the shot was about to come Neil was knocked over, onto the floor. The bullet ricocheted around the room and lodged itself in the wall. Neil opened his eyes and saw his father furiously standing before him.

"Neil! What were you thinking!" He shouted. Neil's mother ran into the room and when she took in the scene before her she broke out into tears.

"I blame that Keating character for this!" Mr. Perry shouted again. Neil sat silently as his parents yelled and screamed. That was it. His father had just taken his one option away from him. He couldn't do anything about it.

His father had then locked him in his room and in the morning had called the school, telling them of the incident. Charlie was expelled, Mr. Keating was fired, and the Dead Poets was successfully dismembered. Neil had gone on to Medical school, not having a say in the situation. He did, however, request one thing, that amazingly his parents had agreed to. He wanted to change his name.

He didn't want to constantly be reminded of the life he once had, with friends and a dream. He wanted to start over. Which he did. Securing the great job at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, becoming one of the best oncologists in the country, and he even had another friend. Just one though. He told himself it was because no one else was as interesting as House, but he knew the real reason. It was because he didn't want to become too attached to something. He already was too close to House. Close enough that he didn't want to loose the miserable diagnostician, even with his emotionally crippling comments and rudeness. And he had never seen anyone from his previous life again…until now.

Wilson was pulled out of his thoughts as someone knocked on his door.

"Hey Wilson!" He heard House yell. "Some guys wanna see you!"

"Excuse me Dr. House," Charlie's confident voice drifted through the door. "We were looking for Dr. Perry. Not James Wilson."

"You said you wanted the doctor that was visiting your friend right?" House sounded irritated. "Well Wilson was the last one in there."

"But his name was Perry…"

The soft voice of Todd cut Charlie off.

"James Wilson was Neil's grandfather's name. On his mom's side."

Then there was silence. Wilson waited to hear what they would say next, crouching close to the door.

"It's Neil." Meeks voice was amazed.

"Neil." Pitts voice was shocked.

"It can't be..." Charlie's voice was disbelieving.

"N-Neil." Todd's voice was quite, and Wilson recognized the old stutter Todd had when he was in an uncomfortable situation.

"No, it's Wilson." House said, then addressed Wilson through the door. "Hey Jimmy, I think these guys are suffering from delusions! Give me a hand with them alright?"

The door swung open and Wilson stepped out into the hall.

"Don't worry about him," he said to the others. "He's just upset because he didn't figure it out."

"Neil!" Todd threw himself at Wilson, causing the oncologist to stumble back into his office. The rest of the Poets followed suit, knocking Wilson over and onto the floor.

"Ow Pitts you're on my leg!"

"Sorry Todd, but Meeks here is sitting on my head."

"Don't blame me, Charlie's the one who won't let me get up."

"Am not!"

"I'm the one on the bottom you idiots!"

"Sorry Neil!" Charlie rolled off and caused the pile of grown men to collapse and the five lay on the floor, checking for injuries.

"It's James." Wilson said, standing up. "I haven't been Neil for twenty some years."

The other men looked at him skeptically, not looking to keen on the idea. Wilson opened his mouth indignantly.

"So Charlie here can change his name to something god-awful like Nuwanda, but when I LEGALY change mine to something normal, I'm looked at like a freak."

"I guess your right Jimbo," Charlie said, slinging and arm around Wilson. "Now, I hear you have a cafeteria somewhere in this hospital…" Wilson broke out into a grin and nodded.

"That we do. Come on…I'll pay." He grabbed his wallet off the desk and turned towards the door, which was currently blocked by a rather disgruntled looking cripple.

"What the hell is going on?" House demanded. Wilson sighed and put his hands on his hips, looking steadily at the older man.

"Come on House, I'll explain over lunch."

**AU: Knox was alright!! House cured him and they lived happily ever after!! Just so you know...**


End file.
